The Wombats

The Wombats
Origin	Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Indie rock, Indietronica
Years active	2003–present
Labels	14th Floor Records Bright Antenna (US only)
Website	thewombats.co.uk
Members
Matthew Murphy Dan Haggis Tord Øverland-Knudsen

The Wombats are an indie rock band formed in Liverpool, England. The band comprises native Liverpudlians Matthew Murphy (lead vocals, guitar, nose harp, keyboard) and Dan Haggis (drums, percussion, keyboard and backing vocals), alongside Norwegian-born Tord Øverland-Knudsen (bass guitar, guitar, keyboard and backing vocals). The band are signed to 14th Floor Records and Bright Antenna in the United States.

History

The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love Loss & Desperation (2003–2008)

The three band members met in 2003 at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, soon becoming friends and starting to jam together. In 2006, the band released their debut single Girls, Boys, and Marsupials which was only available as a release in Japan.

In January 2007, the band released a second limited edition vinyl called Moving to New York, then in May of that year they released a third single entitled "Backfire at the Disco", which reached number 35 in the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by then band's first full single "Kill the Director" in late July. Their debut album, entitled The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, coincided with the release of "Let's Dance to Joy Division" in October 2007, and peaked at number 11 in the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by a European tour ending with a thanksgiving party at Liverpool Academy.^{[citation needed]}

The band started 2008 as the opening act at the opening ceremony of Liverpool, European Capital of Culture at Liverpool Arena. "Moving to New York" was re-released on 14 January 2008 and reached number 13 UK Singles Chart, becoming their highest charting release to date. On the 28th February 2008 the band was awarded 'Best Dancefloor Filler' for their single "Let's Dance To Joy Division" at the NME Awards.^[1]

The Wombats EP (2008–2010)

In April 2008 the band put out their first U.S. release on Bright Antenna, The Wombats EP. Following this release the band went on a full UK tour, as well as playing dates in Europe and Japan. The band also played for Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1 where they covered the Take That song "Patience", as well as the Postman Pat theme tune, which Tord sang in his native Norwegian language.

The summer of 2008 saw the band perform live at a number of major festivals including Glastonbury Festival in June and T in the Park in July, opening the BBC Radio 1 / NME Stage set on the Friday. They also played Reading and Leeds Festival on the Saturday and Friday respectively on the Radio 1/NME Stage supporting Babyshambles.

The band also announced via their MySpace blog that they would be releasing two singles, a seasonal 'Anti-Christmas' themed "Is This Christmas?" on December 15, 2008, followed by a track titled "My Circuitboard City" on March 3, 2009.

The Wombats Proudly Present... This Modern Glitch (2010–present)

In September 2010, the band announced they were near to completing their second studio album in the MRG Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California. The band worked with producers Eric Valetine and Jacknife Lee.

The first single to be released from the album, "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)" was released in the UK on 27 September 2010^[2] and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 23; marking the band's fifth Top 40 hit and third most successful single to date. The accompanying music video was shot in Los Angeles on 19–20 August 2010 and was directed by The General Assembly (directors). Following the rumoured release of "Techno Fan" as the second single to be released from the album, the track "Jump Into the Fog" was confirmed for a release on 24 January 2011.^[3] "Anti-D" has been announced as the next single, with the album following two weeks later. The album, entitled This Modern Glitch, was released in April 2011 as a CD, digital download and also as 7" and 12" vinyls.^[4] The Wombats also played at the 2011 Southside and Hurricane music festivals in Germany.

The Wombats will also perform as part of The Voodoo Experience held at City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 28–30, 2011.

The Wombats' song 'Techno Fan' is currently being used in European airline easyJet's new television and Facebook campaign.

Discography

Main article: The Wombats discography

• A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation (2007)
• The Wombats EP (2008, US only)
• This Modern Glitch (2011)

References

1. ^ Shockwaves NME Awards 2008: The Wombats win Best Dancefloor Filler | News|NME.COM
2. ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0041X915M
3. ^ http://www.thewombats.co.uk/store/products,jump-into-the-fog-single_58.htm
4. ^ http://shop.brightantenna.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=11&products_id=115 Vinyl Package at Bright Antenna Shop

External links

• Official website
• The Wombats at The Indie Music Database